(22/12/2016 16:41)T42 PVM Wrote: [ -> ]Oh dear! I can see Stagecoach wanting to sort this out right away as they are expecting extra revenue
Stagecoach may well want to resolve this dispute now but, according to the article, negotiations have been on-going for the past eight months. No doubt the intention is to concentrate the management's minds particularly if, according to reports, so many drivers from RF have joined Arriva at LS on better rates of pay.
Today Enviro 400 19022 on route 2 just left Holm Oak Road about after 2.15pm heading to Liverpool.
Any strike action from 28 December for two weeks will have a major impact in the area. Don't forget that the Wirral line closures kick in from 3 January and the extra capacity planned for will be needed.
On a personal note, it would seriously inconvenience me getting to & from work as well.
If the offer is as stated in the Liverpool Echo, it seems reasonable to me, given the background rate of inflation. There may well be other t&c's attached to the offer made by management that aren't in the public domain. That said, I'll be getting less than 1% for the next two years as a public sector worker, so refusing an offer that's well in excess of any increase in likely to see isn't going to get too much sympathy from me I'm afraid.
(23/12/2016 07:37)Turbostar Wrote: [ -> ]Any strike action from 28 December for two weeks will have a major impact in the area. Don't forget that the Wirral line closures kick in from 3 January and the extra capacity planned for will be needed.
On a personal note, it would seriously inconvenience me getting to & from work as well.
If the offer is as stated in the Liverpool Echo, it seems reasonable to me, given the background rate of inflation. There may well be other t&c's attached to the offer made by management that aren't in the public domain. That said, I'll be getting less than 1% for the next two years as a public sector worker, so refusing an offer that's well in excess of any increase in likely to see isn't going to get too much sympathy from me I'm afraid.
Don't always believe the newspapers,there's nearly always other t&cs thrown in that management 'forget' to inform the press about.
No-one decides to go on strike lightly
(23/12/2016 08:04)ls1911 Wrote: [ -> ]Don't always believe the newspapers,there's nearly always other t&cs thrown in that management 'forget' to inform the press about.
No-one decides to go on strike lightly
That's true & I may have been a little hasty with my earlier response. Certainly, with regard to the public sector pay cap that's been in place for about 8 years now, the official line (and the one the press normally take) is that everyone will get at least a 1% pay increase each year.
The reality is somewhat different as we have a pay pot of 1% which has to be distributed. Given that many people in public sector jobs are paid at the minimum wage, and that's getting increased by more than 1% each year, the extra money for that comes out of the pay pot - leaving less than 1% for everyone else.
Add in attacks on T&C's and pensions, and the reality is that many people are either financially static, or worse off in real terms, but the press never let the truith get in the way of a good story.
Without knowing the whole story it would be hard to comment properly but it must be bad to go for a two week strike. I was at chester depot when they went on strike back in 2007/8 when it was First and that was only for a few hours using the same paid union official.
Stagecoach have done wonders for the area in providing new buses, improving routes and keeping fares low for its passengers but all that comes at a cost. If they can save money on drivers in terms of pay and working conditions they will, unfortunately it doesn't make for a happy work force.
Personally even though a strike would make it harder for me to get to work do shopping etc I agree wholeheartedly with the action the drivers are taking. Why for one would someone take a decision to suffer 2 weeks without pay lightly and two it is a course of action that the drivers feel they must take in order to progress this year's wage claim.
What I would question is how come up until this point how come management have not come up with a solution and then bingo a strike is called and they can find a solution just like that.
Obviously we can only go on what the press are feeding us but knowing one or two of the drivers at Rock Ferry I wholeheartedly support them I hope they can get what they want if not somewhere close to what they want after all at the present Stagecoach are not competing with Arriva in terms of wages which is way some drivers have left to join Arriva. After all we are all economic slaves in one form or another so given the chance most if not all of us would leave a company to join a company if the second company's money was higher after all we only want what is best for us and our family
The strike action between 28 December and 3 January has been called off and all services will run
Information from Merseytravel on Twitter.
Thanks for the updates.
Let's hope that the position can be resolved to the benefit of the drivers as soon as possible.